Decoration of Carbon Nanotubes with CoO and Co Nanoparticles

Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) decorated with CoO nanocrystals were synthesized by in-situ thermal decomposition of Co(acac) 2 in oleyl amine under reflux conditions open in the air. The CoO/MWNTs composite material can be easily converted to metallic Co/MWNTs through annealing under reducing atmosphere (4% H2) at 500°C without any significant sintering effect. The composite materials characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The structural and morphological characterization shows that the CoO has cubic face ( fcc ) and the particles deposited uniformly on the external surface of the carbon nanotubes. In the annealed materials, the NMR shows that the fcc and hcp metallic Co phases coexist with a significant percentage of stacking faults. The magnetic measurements indicated that the CoO/MWNTs composite is largely composed of CoO nanoparticles with uncompensated surface spins. The fluctuations of spins persist in partially reduced CoO grains as shown by nuclear spin-lattice relaxation measurements.